After Dark
by gabriel-fk
Summary: Prince Vlad's life intersects with Mina's when he arrives in London and dines at her father's restaurant. He is good looking, mysterious and extremely interested in her, but she isn't as easy to win over as some of the women from his past.


Chapter 1

Saturday, Dinnertime

Mina finished preparing the cutlery and laying out the tablecloths in the dining area, writing the day's specials on the blackboard in chalk, greeting the waiting staff, finally getting a chance to sit down in the backroom. Her feet were hurting and her clothes were dusty. She felt shattered.

"Mina! There you are!" Her father Fred snapped as he came through the door and spotted her. "Daphne is not coming in today, and I need someone to wait the tables in the exclusive dining room."

"Am I to do it?" She said, sounding a little shocked.

Fred narrowed his brown eyes at his daughter. He didn't have to say anything, he could scare the life out of his daughter just by looking at her.

Mina shook her head trying to sound confident. "Of course I will, you know that. I will do whatever you need, Father."

Working at her Father's restaurant was not Mina's desired profession. It was just necessary for now, she hoped to become a School Mistress in the future. It was what she had always dreamt of, but it was not an easy job to get into unless you had connections, but she wasn't going to give up. She would just have to wait. She currently lived with her best friend, Lucy, at her rather expansive home, Lucy had always encouraged Mina to live her dreams, but she had discovered it was easier said than done.

This was the first job she had ever had, and she often felt a bit lost while she was doing it. Although it really wasn't difficult. She didn't have to cook anything, just prepare the tables and occasionally take food to customers if necessary. The Ship and Turtle had friendly customers, and talking to them was always a pleasure. That was what she enjoyed most about it. She had worked her for quite some time now, she knew the menu off by heart and could answer any question about the wine they served. She could direct people to the lavatories with her eyes closed. She was an expert. She knew all the rules of serving even though she rarely did it. She knew that you like a person taste the wine before you poured them a glass. Even though this wasn't what she wanted to do she still felt the need to do well. To achieve something. She didn't want to do nothing with her days.

In fact Mina had never actually eaten at The Ship and Turtle. It was the sort of place where everything was very expensive, and you only got very small portions. Before she started working there she had never even heard of most of the dishes, or ingredients for that matter, the food didn't particularly appeal to her. She wasn't into enjoying things just because they were expensive. Normally, she would bring a sandwich from home and eat it for her lunch. The clientele at The Ship and Turtle were usually wealthy, arrogant people. London's so called 'big shots'. From politicians to famous people, everyone seemed to want to try the food there. It was generically for 'business people'.

"This is the first time Prince Vlad has eaten here, but he is new in the city, and we would like to make sure he returns," Mina's father explained to her as she was lead through a door into the 'exclusive' dining room. "As I said, Daphne would normally serve him but she has gone for a weekend away with her husband. I am not impressed, obviously. She could have let us know sooner, that would have been more polite! I thought she must have been ill, but clearly I was mistaken. I hope you will not let me down, you know how important things like this are. Do you not, Mina?"

She nodded her head. She had received the message loud and clear – Fred Murray really was a scary man. Fred was so different to any other fathers she knew. Fred was different to anyone she knew. He had such a strong personality, almost overwhelming. But he had helped her and given her a job when he didn't have to, and had even offered her a place to stay had she not already gotten one. Lucy had saved her from having to go and live with him though, she thought that might have been too much. For this, Mina was eternally grateful. She and Lucy were the best of friends – she loved her, dearly. Lucy was engaged to a man named Arthur, who was everything a gentleman should've been, not to mention unspeakably rich.

Mina was led up some further steps to the exclusive dining room, when she tripped suddenly on the top step, nearly tearing her gown.

"Mina," Fred spat the word like a curse. "Try not to embarrass yourself, or me, _or_ this restaurant. We need Prince Vlad's patronage. Today he is having a business dinner with one of his associates, he is interested in property or something along those lines. It is a small job as there are only two people. I was actually going to ask Eldon to do it but the client said he had seen you earlier and wondered if you could serve him, strange but true. Anyway, I will say this again, please do not let me down."

_Do not let him down._ She repeated it to herself over and over.

She couldn't help but wonder why this 'Prince' had asked for her specifically, why would it matter who waited on him? She was truly confused. And getting a nervous feeling about this particular client. Why was he having dinner with a business associate at The Ship and Turtle if he was a prince? She mentally decided to discuss it all with Lucy later if she had time. However for now she needed to be composed, this was no greasy spoon café. Well, this wasn't even a normal restaurant, she needed to make a good impression.

She began to walk forward, firmly placing one foot in front of the other, desperately hoping not to fall. She took a deep breath and opened the door, revealing two men sat a small but elegant dining table. They were both dressed in top and tails, one looked older than the other. The one she presumed was older had several grey hairs, and a beard about an inch long. He smiled kindly at her, and she moved her gaze to the other man.

The man had long, brown, beautiful hair. It was the colour of milk chocolate and was superbly neat. He did not look very old, but his eyes held an unusual wisdom, they were mysterious. They were the deepest blue, but as she stared at him she thought she saw a flash of crimson amongst the perfect blue oceans, she shook it off, presuming it was a trick of the candlelight. He also had a small and extremely tidy goatee beard and a fine moustache. Mina almost gasped at the sight of him, for she had never seen a man more attractive.

The men seemed to be engaged in a casual conversation, and the attractive man hadn't even look at her yet. She waited patiently, for someone to say something, she didn't want to interrupt.

"Honestly Albert, these people do not even know what they are talk about," the attractive man vented. He had the most beautiful European accent.

"I understand, Vlad. Truly."

"It is unacceptable," he sighed, and sat back in his chair. In doing this he caught sight of Mina. "Do you need something?"

_Oh dear._ He was staring directly at her.

"What is your name? You are here to wait our table, are you not?"

She stepped further into the room and tried to smile through her nerves, feeling her heart beat pick up.

"Yes I am, as Daphne is not available. My name is Wilhelmina; I will be waiting your table this evening." Mina didn't like her full name, but Fred had insisted that she used it as it sounded more proper.

"Good!" The attractive man placed his hands on the table, and traced his wine glass with his fingers. "Are you nervous? _Do not be_. I asked for you specifically." He spoke.

The man's attractiveness intimidated Mina, and she found it difficult to reply.

"Relax; I am sure you are just as good as this Daphne. Are you okay, Wilhelmina?" 'Albert' smiled at her again.

"Yes, sir," she replied nervously, keeping her gaze on Albert. The other man was far too overwhelming. She handed the both a menu and began to explain the specials. "There are several specials on offer today-"

"We do not need to hear them," the attractive man said, not taking his eyes off Mina. "We would like a bottle of the Ferreira Port Wine, whatever price it is, it does not matter. I will have the salad to start followed by the beef."

She blinked a few times, not sure she heard him correctly. She already knew the price of the port, it was very expensive. Even some of the wealthiest people did not order that by the bottle, he must have been incredibly rich – he must have been. She looked at Albert to see if he was ready. He was still looking at the menu.

"I will have the soup and then the lamb," he smiled warmly, handed her back the menu. She picked up the other, untouched menu that laid on front of the so-called Prince Vlad.

"Are you sure about the Ferreira Port Wine?" She asked, hinting at the high price tag.

"Why would I not be?" Vlad asked. His blue eyes shone up at her.

"No reason, I was just checking," she replied.

He raised his eyebrows. "Money does not matter. That is the wine we have chosen."

"Vlad, I am happy with a less expensive one if you are," Albert said with great concern. "I do not want your bank balance to be affected by my presence."

"I have already ordered it," the attractive man spoke in a very matter of fact way.

Part of Mina wanted to state the actual price, but she sensed it with not be wise.

The friendly man smiled at her once more. "Prince Vlad is right. That wine will do just fine, I am sure."

Mina stood still for a moment. Staring at the both of them, feeling a little light headed. This situation was so surreal, the older man worked for the younger man, the younger man was a European prince, it all seemed very curious.

"Of course, I am sorry," she apologized.

"It is fine," Prince Vlad spoke once more.

"I truly am sorry if I offended you," she began to realize she sounded pathetic.

"No matter! Forget it," he asked, staring at her with his soft, sky coloured eyes.

She shook her head and exited the room as quickly as her feet would let her. She almost ran down the stairs and in doing so managed to trip again. Her knee hit the bottom step with a painful thud. She stood up and winced as she walked towards the wine bar.

Eldon noticed her fall and followed her.

"Are you alright?"

"I am fine. My knee is going to hurt tomorrow, and I do not think I'll be getting a service tip from upstairs, but I am okay."

"How is it going up there? I have been told that you are covering for Daphne, and apparently the 'Prince' can be a bit difficult. I have heard he is insanely rich."

Mina's eyes widened. "Insanely?"

Eldon laughed, "Mina, really? Prince Vlad, a prince. He is from Romania, and has a legacy of his family's wealth behind him. I have no idea how old he is though; I heard he had a wife a while ago, but she died. Killed herself. I heard someone refer to him as a 'knight'. Can you believe it?"

_A knight. Surely not. He couldn't be._ That just didn't make sense.

"Oh my. Well, that explains his choice of wine. It also explains why he is so mysterious. Oh my. Just, oh my." Mina felt such a fool. She worried about the cost of a bottle of wine when it was probably worth nothing to him.

Eldon laughed again. "Oh my indeed. I hope he comes back, Mina. Just think of the money we could take in from him. Fred will not be happy if he does not return because of you so you should probably be extra friendly."

"I know," she replied, needing to get that wine, and suddenly wishing Daphne hadn't gone for a weekend away with her husband.

Cattermole, the wine expert, handed Mina the ridiculously expensive bottle of wine and gave her instructions on how to serve it. She carried it up the staircase with the upmost care. Knowing that if she dropped it, the consequences would be most severe, she didn't even want to think about what Fred would say.

Surprisingly, she made it upstairs without dropping it. She poured the extremely expensive wine into two glasses and waited a few minutes to let it breathe. She served their starters and then handed them both the small amounts of liquid so they could taste it.

Prince Vlad stared into the glass before swirling the red liquid around. He raised it to his nose, smelling it before he lowered it to his lips. She found herself mesmerized. He had beautiful lips, for someone so intimidating. He took a sip but didn't swallow it. Letting the taste drift around his mouth. Eventually he swallowed before taking another sip. Her eyes were focused on his mouth. She wanted to look away but there was something about him that made it impossible. His tongue traced over the surface area of his bottom lip. Despite being extremely scared of him she admitted to herself that he had the most hypnotizing mouth. He sat the glass down and then nodded his approval. She filled his glass and then Albert's.

She managed to make it through the rest of dinner without any serious mistakes. She served their main meal seamlessly. She began to feel more confident as if she had redeemed herself. She wondered to herself, if she would get a service tip after all. She actually rather enjoyed it, once she had gotten over the initial amount of nerves. She suddenly didn't feel so bad about Daphne's weekend away.

Everything was going so well, she should have expected that something was about to go wrong. She brought up their deserts and some glasses of water, just as Prince Vlad appeared to be writing a letter. He took a sip of his wine and then put the glass down close to the edge of the table.

Just as she put down his glass of water he looked up and said, "No!"

She was startled, unsure at first if he was talking to her or himself. She jerked her hand away and in the process managed to knock his glass of wine over, the very expensive wine spilling all over his trousers.

"Oh good lord! I am so sorry!" she grasped a napkin and he leant back in his seat.

"Damn!" he cursed.

Things were not going well anymore.

"I am sorry. You startled me. I was not sure if you were talking to me or not. I am sorry."

"Look at this mess, Albert. You bring me to The Ship & Turtle and this is what happens to my suit, and my wine. This is terrible."

He moved his paper out of the way and took the napkin from Mina.

"I am so sorry," she said with a trembling voice. The man scared her nearly as much as Fred, he looked furious. "I can get you something for the stain if you wish."

"Do not!" his voice rose. "Please just get me the bill. We are done."

She nodded and walked downstairs to get him the bill. She was desperately trying not to cry. He had looked so angry. Angry people made her nervous. She did not like to ruffle feathers. She preferred to go unnoticed.

Prince Vlad was standing when she returned, cleaning his trousers with the napkin. His face bore a pained expression. The room smelt of expensive wine.

"I am sorry again. I can pay for them to be cleaned if you would like," she tried to be polite. She thought she was doing the right thing, so he knew how sorry she was.

"That would be kind!" he spoke almost sarcastically.

"Vlad," his assistant warned him.

She could feel the tears threatening to fall. "I am really sorry."

He reached into his jacket pocket for a cheque book, filling one in quickly and handing it back to her. She looked up at him, feeling incredibly guilty. He didn't even look at her. He just walked out of the door.

"Thank you for a wonderful lunch, Wilhelmina," Albert his associate smiled at her again. How did him and the Prince even know each other?

With cheque in hand she realised he had not tipped her service. Not that she was surprised, she did spill wine over him. Plus she was going to pay for his trousers to be cleaned. She stopped to wonder how much it would cost, a lot probably. The suit did look very expensive. She was sure she owned nothing so expensive.

The Prince. _What a mysterious man._ The European Prince. The European, extremely rich, absurdly handsome, terrifying Prince.

Mina tried to push Prince Vlad and his scary temper and his beautiful mouth and angular face and stunning eyes and his mysterious, dangerous vibe out of her mind. She was doing well, until someone approached her later on.

"Wilhelmina?" a man she didn't recognize was walking towards her.

"Yes," she answered cautiously.

"Prince Vlad asked that I give this to you," he said with a smile that was not dissimilar to the one Albert the Associate had given her. He looked at her with sympathy. In truth she felt sorry for them; they had to work with the intimidating man. She had only seen him through the duration of a dinner, and he had terrified her. He handed her an envelope with her name written in beautiful calligraphy on the cover.

Curiosity got the better of her and she began to open it, almost tearing the envelope open. Perhaps it was her service tip after all. That was probably too kind for him. She pulled out the piece of paper, gasping.

"What is it?" Grace, one of the waitresses, asked.

"A cleaning bill for _one hundred and fourteen pounds_!"

"Why is someone giving you a cleaning bill?" Grace asked, confused.

He hadn't tipped her and was now charging her over one hundred pounds to clean his trousers? One of the richest men in London, wanted her to give him money for a simple mistake? She suddenly felt angry. She thought about throwing the bill straight in the dustbin. He could send all the people he wanted. It was unfair that she should have to pay such an amount.

She only normally worked until lunchtime on a Saturday. As the restaurant was at its busiest on a Saturday night. That was when the big shots came in. Big shots like Prince Vlad.

The more she thought about him, the angrier she grew. Wasn't that a lot of money for just cleaning a pair of trousers? It was daylight robbery! That amount of money was nothing to him though. He could pay himself – easily. He could have given her a service tip – easily. He could pay for that wine – easily.

_Madness_. She would not pay it, she had decided. He had even attached his address in case she had chosen to do so.

_Vlad Tepes, Prince of Wallachia_

_House of Draculesti_

_Carfax Abbey, Purfleet_

_London, RM19 9WA_

She slipped his card and the cleaning bill into her bag and collected her overcoat. Putting her bag over her shoulder, she briefly checked her appearance in the nearby mirror. She stepped outside, finding the temperature surprisingly pleasant. She made her way to where a carriage would pick her up; as she did she saw a sign: 'Purfleet this way', and suddenly felt inspired. She decided she would pay Prince Vlad for the cleaning, but not without letting her true feelings be heard.

Finding Carfax Abbey wasn't as easy as she thought it was going to be. And when she did arrive, the place was surrounded with gypsy-looking builders, looking at her funny, she probably stood out as the only woman, and she suddenly felt self conscious in her simple cream shirt. Everyone she made eye contact with looked at her suspiciously. She was directed up several different flights of stone stairs. Once she made it to the portion of the abbey where Prince Vlad apparently was, she was met with more builders. She hadn't thought there would be this many.

"Do you have an appointment?" a man asked her.

"No exactly, but Prince Vlad asked me to bring him something," she replied, knowing that he probably didn't get many unannounced visitors.

"Let me get someone else," the man said, looking irritated.

She looked around the abbey; there was no furniture, no nothing. In fact most of it was open air. They only thing here was boxes, tonnes and tonnes of boxes.

"Can I help you?" another man asked a few minutes later. How many men were there around here? Too many, it appeared.

Mina stood up. The small amount of coins rattled in her purse, causing the man to eye her intently.

"Oh, I am here to see Prince Vlad. My name is Min- I mean Wilhelmina. Wilhelmina Murray. I work at The Ship and Turtle when Prince Vlad ate today. I am here to pay his cleaning bill. I spilt some wine on his trousers, and offered to pay. I wanted to come by and give it to him."

The look on his face was priceless. It was nice to know that she wasn't the only confused one.

He smiled at her, in a patronizing way. "Madam, I am sure that Prince Vlad can pay for his own cleaning, you really do not have to."

"Oh, but Prince Vlad sent me to bill, he asked me to pay him."

"Prince Vlad asked you to pay? He sent you the bill?" the man asked, looking perplexed.

"I have the bill here," she said, pulling it out of her overcoat pocket. She showed it to the man.

He looked at it and then back up at her.

"Oh, you should give that to me Madam, and I will ensure he gets it," her put out his hand.

"Well, I would really like to give it to Prince Vlad personally. I want to apologize again," she requested sweetly.

The man thought for a moment before gesturing for her to follow him. He used a key to get through a door, and then they walked down a long passageway and into another room. Mina's nerves started to get the best of her, and she bit her bottom lip.

They turned down another hall, before going up a staircase. When they reached the top, they were much higher up and everything was quite cool. Everywhere she looked was stone. There was a thick layer of fog coating the upper-abbey, giving it an eerie feel.

"Wait here," the man said, before walking away without her.

The abbey was incredible. It must have been worth a small fortune. Suddenly she heard footsteps, and a figure emerged from the fog.

Albert the Associate emerged, smiling.

He greeted her warmly. "Wilhelmina, it is nice to see you again." He reached for her hand, and kissed it lightly.

"I wanted to pay Prince Vlad for his cleaning and apologize again," she explained.

"You really do not need to. Prince Vlad is having a difficult day, he is not always like that, and he will not really want to take your money."

"It is fine. Really. I want to pay my debt."

"I can give it to him, if you would like," Albert said, extending his hand.

"I would really like to give it to him personally."

Albert sighed in defeat. He lead the way, the vast stone walls becoming a blur to Mina. She saw several other gypsy-like men on her way.

"This way," Albert said, leading her to yet another door.

He knocked, and a voice shouted, "Come in."

Albert opened the door and announced Mina in the most formal way possible.

"Miss Wilhelmina Murray to see you, sir."

Prince Vlad looked up from the papers on his desk and sent Mina's heart fluttering. All the confidence she had built up on her way around the abbey had vanished at the sight of him. A look of surprise took over his face for a moment, and then he smirked. His lips formed a small smile.

"Thank you, Albert," he replied firmly.

Then, Albert the Associate left Mina alone with him. She tried to focus on her breathing, so she didn't pass out in front of him with the sheer anxiety of the confrontation. She thought she was brave, but she suddenly felt very small.

"I was not expecting you, Wilhelmina. You have surprised me, well done." He still smiled. He really was very handsome. It was hard for Mina not to be taken in by his good looks. She had never seen anyone that looked like him. Never, in her life. She remembered why she had come here, and decided to stop practically drooling over his appearance. She focused on the task at hand.

"Well, I am just here to apologize again." She reached into her coin purse and he stopped smiling. He almost looked nervous. What was he thinking?

"I am sorry for spilling port on your trousers. I am sorry that I did not live up to your expectations. And I am sorry that you placed your glass so close to the edge of the table, and shouted out, causing me to make an easy mistake of knocking your glass over, and most of all I am sorry that you overreacted and made me feel ridiculously guilty for something that really was not my fault."

Following that, she opened the rest of her coin purse and pulled out a bag with one hundred and fourteen pounds exactly in it, she placed it right in front of him.

"One hundred and fourteen dollars. I believe that will cover the cost of cleaning your trousers. I hope it will suffice."

She smiled as she walked out of his office. The look on his face was one of the best things she had ever seen.

**A/N: I don't own Dracula.**

**I deleted My Prince of Darkness so I guess this is the replacement, it's a little different though, obviously.**

**I should update as frequently as possible.**

**Please review and tell me what you think – or give me any suggestions.**


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